This Day In History: 1944-02-04

An article in the Ramsey Journal informed the public that pressure cookers had been taken off the list of rationed items.  This meant that home canners did not have to rely on more risky methods of preserving their home-grown foods during the war emergency.  Particularly to be avoided was the freezing of home canned foods.  Freezing after canning tended to crush glass containers and bulge metal ones.  The US Department of Agriculture urged housewives to use pressure methods to can, especially in the case non-acid foods such as meats and most vegetables, except for tomatoes.  The article concluded with the statement that 315,000 wartime pressure cookers, made of steel covered with porcelain, had been made in 1943 and 400,000 were to be produced in 1944.  These could be obtained without a letter from the ration Board as long as they were to be used for food preparation.

(Bristow)